Remembering Tomorrow
by Preposte
Summary: When Naruto succeeded with his first shadow clone he was very proud, but as it dispersed something goes terribly wrong. As he wakes up in the hospital he must come to terms with a jumble of memories that aren't his own. Or are they? (Timetravel'ish)
1. Chapter 1 - Memories

I do not own anything that has to do with Naruto.

**-=oOo=-**

"Yatta!" chorused a pair of voices. Wildlife scattered from the dark clearing as a pair of orange figures leapt in celebration.

"I'm gonna be a genin for sure this time!"

"Next up? Hokage! Dattebayo!"

A muted puff was heard, followed by a pained groan and a heavy thud as Iruka stopped his approach on a branch above his most troublesome student. The worry that had colored the last hour for Iruka blossomed into panic as he lept down to the dirt to see a small bundle of orange crumpled on the ground. He rolled the boy on his back and checked his pulse, though he couldn't help glancing at the large scroll partially unrolled on the ground next to him.

What had come over Naruto? He knew the boy would take his failure earlier that day hard, but this was treason! What did he hope to gain? The pulse was weak, but steady. No visible wounds on his body, but the bulky jumpsuit obscured any further inspection. Naruto was definitely unconscious, but his face looked so peaceful at rest. How could he have have been afraid of the boy for so long? Fear of the Kyuubi sealed inside of him was understandable, but the boy himself was strong-willed and earnest. He couldn't imagine him as a revenge seeker that might unleash a monster on those that hurt him. How the Yondaime knew that Naruto would be strong enough to contain the beast he'd never know, but it seemed that the late Hokage's judgement was sound. Another credit to his legend. The quiet rise of Naruto's chest comforted him, but he still didn't understand why Naruto had stolen a Forbidden Scroll. With a sudden clenching of his gut, a drip of blood appeared to leak from Naruto's ear.

While years teaching at the academy had dulled some of his instincts, Iruka's chakra sensing remained strong and he noticed immediately when another chakra signature appeared from the same direction from which he'd come. A little more time might have helped him figure out what was really going on before anyone showed up to take the boy into custody, but he supposed he'd never had that kind of luck. Wait… was that Mizuki?

A subtle whistling noise was all the warning he received as a trio of kunai ripped through the air toward him. Instinct screamed at him to leap aside, but he quickly realized that the kunai would hit Naruto if he didn't stop them. It was the easiest decision he'd ever made.

**-=oOo=-**

His head felt like someone had used it as a taijutsu training post. A low groan escaped as his consciousness caught up to the world around him. Opening his eyes appeared to be a mistake when the blinding light forced him to shut them just as quickly. Where was he? It didn't feel like the lumpy mattress he was so used to.

A door open and closed again before he could properly keep his eyes open. "Uzumaki-san, how are you feeling?" The voice was pleasant and professional. _Oh, man. I'm in the hospital, aren't I?_ He hated the hospital. Nevertheless he tried to open his eyes again instead of just wishing he were somewhere else. He raised his hand to rub his eyelids, but his hand came to an abrupt halt a couple inches off the mattress. Properly motivated, the sliver of his vision slowly grew under his conscious effort. He wondered briefly what it would be like to be blind as he tried to take in the blur of pink that made up his interrogator.

As his eyes focused on his environment, Naruto looked down at his wrists and found wooden cuffs securing them to the bed frame. Did they think he was going to try to run? Sure he hated the hospital, but… ok, maybe he would have run. Still, this seemed like overkill.

The nurse waited patiently for the boy to orient himself before clearing her throat to get his attention.

"Uh, I'm fine. Wait, no… my head hurts really bad. What happened?" Naruto subtly pushed against the cuffs to test their strength. They looked thick, but not unbreakable.

The nurse didn't appear to acknowledge his efforts as she made a note on a clipboard and left the room. The room was silent except for the sound of skin twisting against wood until the door cracked again. This time, a familiar presence flooded the room and Naruto let up on his struggled.

"Jiji! What's going on? Why am I tied to the bed? Did they think I was gonna escape? Er, again?" Naruto managed to look slightly abashed at the last bit, but the Hiruzen Sarutobi took his pipe into his hand and shook his head solemnly. Normally he enjoyed the boy's antics, but this was a very serious matter.

"Naruto, can you tell me what happened yesterday?"

Naruto scrunched up his forehead for a moment before his eyes went wide. "Oh, I got the scroll just like Mizuki-sensei told me, but I guess I passed out. Did I pass the test?"

Sarutobi puffed on his pipe for a moment as he looked at the boy. "And what did Mizuki tell you?"

"Oh, since I didn't pass the main graduation test he said I could take the applied exam. All I had to do is steal that scroll from your house. He didn't tell me you'd be guarding it, but I can handle anything! Dattebayo!" Naruto beamed up at the old man and grinned as if his wrists weren't still bound to the bed.

Hiruzen smirked and thought about how relaxing it was to pretend that this was just like the many other conversations they'd had. "Naruto, I'm going to have to ask for specifics. Think of it like a mission debriefing. You never know what details will turn out to be important. What happened that night?"

Naruto's face slipped into something that was clearly meant to look serious and professional. It needed work. "Let's see. OK, so sneaking where no one's supposed to be is easiest at night, right? So I waited until most people were in bed and crawled up the drain pipe to get into the window on the third floor. The one by the bathroom. Mizuki-sensei said that the scroll would be in the library. Second door on the left. So as I crept down the hall, that's when you ambushed me from the bathroom!" Naruto didn't notice the Hokage's grimace as he continued.

"So I used my awesome ninjutsu skills to defeat you, grab the scroll and escape like the wind! Mizuki-sensei told me to head out into the woods and evade capture long enough to learn a technique from the scroll." At this, Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "The first one in the scroll was the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I never figured out how to do the one from the academy, so I was about to skip it, but I thought maybe this one would be easier. And it was! It took me most of the morning, but I got it! I made a shadow clone. Then the clone popped and… um, I guess the next thing I remember is waking up here." His face fell suddenly. "Does that mean I was captured after all? Did I fail again? But I learned a technique!"

Hiruzen almost didn't register the question as he considered the implications. The pieces were falling into place. "Naruto-kun, you've been unconscious for six days." Naruto's eyes went wide. "The scroll you stole was a scroll of seals that was restricted by the Nidaime Hokage because the techniques were dangerous." The Sandaime Hokage paused to let that sink in.

"Wait, so that wasn't the scroll I was supposed to steal?"

"I'm sorry to tell you, Naruto-kun. There was no second test. Mizuki asked you to steal that scroll for real."

Naruto's eyes were wide and conflicted. Sadness on realizing he still wasn't a ninja. Anger at Mizuki for tricking him. Fearful on realizing that, tricked or not, he was a thief. The boys eyes fell back down to the cuffs around his wrists and recognized that they WERE afraid that he was going to escape from the hospital. "I didn't mean to do anything wrong, Jiji. I swear!" Gone was the bellowing voice of the loudmouth. Tears were at Naruto's eyes and his voice was suddenly constricted.

"I know, Naruto-kun. It was Mizuki who did a bad thing. I just wanted to make sure you gave me the whole story." Hiruzen moved his finger. An ANBU agent appeared from the shadows wearing a white porcelain mask that looked vaguely like a cat, covering everything except short, non-descript brown hair. The man made a series of hand seals and the wooden cuffs opened and fell to the linoleum floor before he melted back into the darkness. "Now, Naruto, about the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I don't want you using it again. The techniques in that scroll were restricted for a reason. It's possible that that technique is responsible for putting you in the hospital for so long, and I want to make sure before we risk it happening again. Alright?"

Naruto sniffled and nodded.

"Kaori?" Hiruzen turned back towards the door. The same nurse as before, who once against a pink blur to Naruto thanks to his tears, came back and stood at attention. "Take good care of our Naruto-kun here. He's had a tough week."

**-=oOo=-**

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, had never felt so old. He settled into his seat as his former teammates, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane sat across from him without a word. Hiruzen leaned back and puffed once more on his pipe and set it carefully in its holder. "Thoughts?"

Koharu started slowly, weighing each word with precision. "The boy shows poor critical thinking skills, but so do many of the academy students during peacetime. That will have to trained out of him, sooner rather than later. How about remedial training? Send him back to the academy with a focused curriculum." She paused for a moment to change the tenor of the discussions. "Of course, this time, his instructors will have to be more thoroughly vetted." The flat expression on her face hid the barb from view, but Hiruzen felt it. He had pushed for as normal a childhood as he could arrange for the boy, and nearly led them all to catastrophe.

Homura cleared his throat to change the subject. "Speaking of which, what of Mizuki and the scroll?"

In response, the cat ANBU appeared from the corner of the office, standing at attention. "Vanished. ANBU reported the trail went cold eight miles north of the village. The trackers are certain he had assistance."

"So Mizuki has defected. Probably gave them the scroll as payment. He had minimal damaging intelligence or tactical value, so the scroll appears to be the primary loss."

Hiruzen interrupted, "While not nothing, I'm not overly concerned about the scroll. If I were, it wouldn't have been so simply to steal. Many of the techniques inside were half-finished or suicidal to try. Tobirama-sensei created many such techniques. I had it in my home in order to study a sealing array that I had hoped would lead to a tighter personal security seal. In fact, it may prove beneficial in determining where the scroll ended up. Tenzo, brief ANBU regarding inspecting foreign seals for signature elements of the Nidaime's sealing style." The cat ANBU nodded and disappeared in a body flicker.

Homura raised an eyebrow at his old friend. "If Mizuki is a minor security breach and the scroll is not critical, why are you so concerned."

A withered hand floated toward the smoking pipe before its owner registered the movement. The Hokage sighed. "Naruto-kun is the concern. He'll get over Mizuki, but I don't know if he'll get over Iruka."

When the pause stretched, Koharu spoke up. "Iruka Umino. The chunin instructor who was killed trying to stop the traitor? I was under the impression that he was unpopular with the academy teachers due to his incessant pranks. I wouldn't be worried about it being his first exposure to death. If what you said is true, he didn't even see the body."

Hiruzen shook his head in answer. "Iruka and Naruto had recently grown especially close. He was responsible for a considerable improvement in the boy's attitude and I'm afraid his death could shake the boy to his core. While Naruto-kun is an exceptional child whose loyalty is not doubted, it is generally a bad idea to play around with a jinchuuriki's emotional state."

Both of the councilor's leaned back in their chairs in thought. Koharu spoke first. "You haven't told him I assume?" Hiruzen shook his head. "Then give him distractions. As long as he has something to apply himself towards he should be able to absorb it. His grades may have been poor, but he was still trained to be a ninja." She breathed out slowly. "I don't need to tell you that having a compromised jinchuuriki is unacceptable. Iwa and Kumo each have two fully trained jinchuuriki and no fondness for us."

Homura leaned forward and put a hand gently on the desk. "Do not send him back to the academy. I know how strongly you feel about this, but give him a tutor. Apprentice him. Don't send him back to a classroom. Even if it didn't result in a full outbreak, it would put the other children in danger." The lines on the old man's face were tight and Hiruzen had to remind himself that Homura also had grandchildren attending the academy. It was good advice. And probably best for Naruto as well.

"Look into suitable tutors. I'll tell him everything in the morning."

**-=oOo=-**

He's the same as me…

"Naruto-kun… please… kill me." Naruto stared at Haku uncomprehending. "Please hurry up and kill me." Naruto grit his teeth. How could someone just like him want to die so much? "Why are you hesitating?"

"I don't understand! Is being strong the only reason for you to be alive?!" Haku didn't respond. "Something other than fighting. You could have been acknowledged for something else…" Naruto trailed off. He understood what Haku must be feeling, but he couldn't put it into words. He felt like he was too stupid to save him.

"The day I met you in the forest, I thought you were like me. You should be able to understand… I'm sorry that you will have to stain your hands…"

"Is this…! The only way…?" Naruto's teeth were clenched so tight they felt like they could shatter, but nothing in him could force his muscles to relax.

"Yes…!"

The loneliness. The despair. There are things worse than death. Could he do this for Haku? Put him out of his misery? It didn't feel like the right thing, but he couldn't think of anything to say in return. Haku's conviction was so strong. Maybe he was right? His hand reached into his kunai pouch automatically and withdrew a kunai.

"Please, fulfill you own dreams…"

At that Naruto couldn't help by glance at Sasuke's body. "He… Sasuke also had a dream…" He turned his gaze toward Haku, but pictured Sasuke. He needed to harden his heart. "... If we'd met under different circumstances, we might have become friends." Naruto gathered himself and jumped forward, racing toward his opponent. His new friend. That he was going to kill.

"Thank you."

Naruto thrust forward, but suddenly Haku's hand came up and grabbed his wrist, twisting the thrust off to the side. "Sorry Naruto-kun. I can't die yet!" And suddenly Haku was gone.

A loud chirping sound filled his ears, but disappeared just as suddenly as Naruto say up in the hospital bed, sweating and panting for breath. He looked down at his hands and saw they were clean. He felt his face, and it felt smooth. No scratches, no bruises. What was that? Was that a dream? He's never dreamt something so vivid before. And he remembered all of it. He even felt like he knew what happened next, though the knowledge felt just beyond his grasp. Sasuke. Haku. A bridge?

He took a deep breath to calm the stampede going on in his chest. He remembered deciding to kill that person he'd never met. Did other people have dreams like that?

Was it a dream?

**Author's Note:**

For those who are concerned about how Iruka died, Mizuki escaped and/or Naruto lived while unconscious, I will have your answers in the next chapter. Rest assured, there is a method to my madness. The question to ask is: what was Mizuki's plan? He was an expert manipulator, so I think we can assume that he didn't suddenly become an honest villain at the last second. What did Mizuki need to happen to get what he wanted?

Future chapters should be longer, so consider this more of a prologue. I'm going to use canon characters whenever possible, but the story itself is going to diverge pretty heavily from canon as you have, no doubt, already noticed. I don't bash characters, and I try to follow a logical consequences model as closely as possible. I have a loose plot line out for three and a half arcs, so hopefully there's enough interest in this story to make it worthwhile to tell.

Cover art comes from a coloring by i-azu at deviantart based on a lining of a Naruto Shippuden cover.


	2. Chapter 2 - What is real?

"Good morning, Naruto-kun."

Naruto blinked at the ceiling. He didn't remember falling asleep again last night. His heart had been pounding so hard. The dream had felt so real. It still felt real. He'd never had a dream like that before.

"How did you sleep?" Naruto started and looked up to see the face of the Hokage using the brim of his ceremonial hat to block the sun from the window. I bet Jiji would know what to do!

"Uh, I guess. I had a really weird dream though." Naruto's forehead wrinkled as he tried to find the words to explain himself. "I dreamed that I was on a bridge in the Land of Waves. A big one. And I was a ninja. Like, I had my hitai-ite and everything and I was on a team with Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme, and this guy, Kakashi-sensei. We were fighting these really tough ninja, and this one that used ice jutsu killed Sasuke, but not really? And he asked me to kill him, but then he ran away and Kakashi-sensei ran his hand right through him. It felt really real."

Hiruzen stared at the boy for a moment. Did he know about the team assignments? Naruto had been holed up in the hospital unconscious until yesterday, so how could he know Sakura and Sasuke were on the same team under Kakashi? "That does sound interesting, Naruto-kun. I understand that the medics found nothing wrong physically with you, but perhaps a meeting with someone who better understands psychological issues would be in order?"

Naruto stared back.

"Maybe you should talk to someone who knows how to help you get better from having your mind messed up." Comprehension dawned on the boy's face and he gave a big embarrassed grin and nodded. Well, that could be handled later. This wasn't precisely how he wanted this discussion to go. "Naruto-kun, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Naruto tilted his head curiously, before his eyes went wide. "Wait, I still get to try the test again, right? I know it was my third try, but I thought…"

Hiruzen raised a hand gently to stop the boy from getting too far off track. "Fear not. While you haven't graduated this time, you will have other chances. No, I'm afraid this news you will find more difficult." Naruto looked nervous, but Hiruzen pressed on. "Iruka Umino is dead."

Naruto's jaw dropped. Dead? "What?... How?"

Letting out a soft sad sigh, Hiruzen continued. "The night of graduation test, we believe Iruka was that first one to find you with the scroll. Apparently you were already unconscious at this point. Mizuki arrived next and they fought. Iruka was killed defending you from him. At that point, it appears that Mizuki arranged the scene for it to look like you had killed your sensei-"

At this Naruto sat up. He couldn't keep quiet any longer. "I would never hurt Iruka-sensei!" If the sheets hadn't been tucked in so tightly, he would have been standing on the bed in his agitation.

Hiruzen raised his hand again, gently, to let Naruto know that no one thought so. "I know that, Naruto-kun, but the first responders didn't. As they secured the scene, Mizuki managed to escape the village with the scroll. By the time someone who was similarly aware of the situation arrived, it was too late."

Rage played across Naruto's face. A tinge of malicious chakra tickled the edge of the Hokage's senses. Hiruzen let the scene play out, interested in how Naruto would respond to this news. Slowly the rage faded away as the grief overtook it. Iruka was really gone. Naruto looked about to say something, but shut his mouth and fell back on his pillow, staring at the ceiling as if willing himself to wake up.

Hiruzen sighed and patted the boy's shoulder. "I'll give you some time Naruto-kun, but I'll be back if you want to talk about it." The old man turned and left the room without a noise.

**-=oOo=-**

"Hokage-sama." Inoichi Yamanaka bowed to the Hokage in the hospital corridor. The ANBU who had led the retired jounin left swiftly at a nod from his leader. "You summoned me?"

"Yes, Inoichi-san. I have a delicate matter for you to attend to." Inoichi cast a quick glance at the room the Hokage had just exited.

**-=oOo=-**

No matter how hard he stared the brilliant white ceiling, it simply wouldn't burst into flames. Pity. Naruto rolled over on his side to look out the window. Bright blue skies. He felt offended by that for some reason.

Iruka-sensei was dead. Because of him. Why did Mizuki kill Iruka instead of him?

A pain blossomed behind his eyes. Naruto put the heels of his hands against them to dull the pain, but the pain grew steadily until, like a candle in the wind, it vanished.

Everyone wore black today. Even Gai and Lee. After the funeral service, Naruto didn't know what to do with himself, so he went where he always went when he felt this way.

Parting the curtains, Naruto stepped inside the Ichiraku Ramen stand and took a seat at the counter. It seemed odd to see Teuchi and Ayame in anything but their normal white cooking smocks, but he appreciated their sensitivity. Without a word, a bowl of pork miso ramen was placed in front of him and he smiled thankfully. Ayame gave him a weak smile in return before turning back to the stove.

Moments after dipping his chopsticks into the salty broth, the curtains parted behind him and someone took a seat heavily at the counter next to him.

"How are you doing, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked up from his ramen. He didn't even feel very hungry, so letting it sit for a moment wasn't a problem. "Hi, Iruka-sensei. I'm doing alright. Konohamaru took it worse. Still, I'm really going to miss jiji." Iruka nodded and silently ordered the same thing as Naruto.

"We're all going to miss him. He was a great leader, and I don't envy whoever has to fill his shoes."

Naruto gave a small smile and turned back to his ramen. Normally, he would have been all over that opening, but he wasn't sure now. He didn't feel ready to take the hat yet.

"By the way, your ramen is on me today."

"What?" Naruto gaped.

"Well, it's only fair. We've all been so busy since the invasion, but gambling debts are not so easily forgotten."

Naruto looked even more confused than before.

Iruka grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, I might have placed a wager on your fight in the chunin exam finals. The tournament may have been interrupted, but you won that fight fair and square. With the odds that were paying, I made out pretty well."

As Naruto continued to gawk, Teuchi laughed and leaned over the counter conspiratorily. "Well then, I suppose the second bowl will have to be on the house! You weren't the only one who made out pretty well from that fight." At this point Naruto joined in the laughter and Ayame looked on at the three men enjoying each other's company with a contented smile. Iruka clapped a hand on Naruto's back and returned to a somber look as the moment passed. Naruto smiled at him and nodded to the unspoken question. He was going to be okay.

The white ceiling stared back at him, daring him to blink first. Another dream? But he wasn't even asleep! Did Mizuki mess with his head or something? Naruto growled. That bastard killed Iruka-sensei and got away scot-free. A powerful urge flushed his system as he thought about the injustice. It wasn't right.

Before he knew it, he was perched on the windowsill of his hospital room. Without a moment's hesitation he leapt out.

The curtains blew in the breeze of the open window.

The door cracked open and Inoichi poked his head in to find the room empty.

**-=oOo=-**

Dust kicked up as Naruto skipped across the rooftop. He didn't have a plan in mind, per se, but a journey always started with the first step and he didn't see the point in waiting. At least he knew where he was going right now. His equipment was sitting on the couch of his apartment. Once he got it he could figure out his next step.

Landing lightly on the next rooftop, he was forced to skid to a halt as the cat-masked ANBU appeared in front of him.

"Naruto Uzumaki. I'm here to escort you back to the hospital until you are cleared to leave."

The boy growled. "Mizuki killed Iruka-sensei! I have to find him! He did it because of me!" Tears collected at the edge of his vision, but he wouldn't let that stop him either. Naruto made to leap to a different rooftop to go around the ANBU when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. Purely on instinct, Naruto reached up to grab the offending hand before ducking and pivoting under the arm. The ANBU blocked Naruto's pivot with his leg and slipped his arm free before jumping back to reassess.

Naruto quickly formed his hands into a familiar hand seal and created a shadow clone in a puff of smoke. He reached out behind him and channeled chakra to his hand. The ANBU leapt back again to create more space as a whirling ball of energy appeared in his hand. With his attacker moving away and the pulse of adrenaline wearing thin, Naruto's awareness of the situation returned. He turned and stared at the ball of energy in his hand for a moment in shock before his lapse in concentration caused the ball to explode.

**-=oOo=-**

He hated that ceiling. If ceilings could feel, he bet that the feeling would be mutual. Something was wrong with him. He knew he wasn't the sharpest kunai in the holster, but pulling out techniques he'd never learned was a much bigger deal than daydreams. Something was wrong and he had no clue what it was.

He woke not long ago to his nurse, Kaori, taking a blood sample. He wasn't exactly sure of the point of that as he was fairly sure the diagnosis was 'hit by exploding ball of energy'. The wooden cuffs were back, and to be honest he figured that was a good idea. The overwhelming anger he'd felt before didn't bother him, but the realization that there's something in your head that's not supposed to be there was disconcerting to say the least.

"I'm sorry about earlier, ANBU-san." Naruto assumed the cat-masked man was still present in his room. He was probably the one who brought him back, even after he attacked him. Kaori looked up from her clipboard at the boy, over her shoulder to the apparently empty room, and shrugged as she made some notes.

A few minutes of scribbling and silence ended with Kaori leaving Naruto with just silence. He wasn't exactly in top form to begin with, but the silent treatment always bugged him. The ceiling seemed to enjoy the silence and Naruto wanted to make noise to wipe its imaginary grin of its imaginary face.

Before he could act on his somewhat crazed urge, the door cracked open again. "Oh good, you're here this time. How was your breath of fresh air?" Inoichi Yamanaka pulled a chair sitting against the wall to Naruto's bedside and sat down fluidly. Somehow he'd crossed the entire room without getting a defensive reaction out of the nervous jinchuuriki. He leaned back and addressed the boy. "My name is Inoichi Yamanaka. Now, I've heard a number of things about you since the incident last week, and I'm here to find out what's actually going on. Do you think you can help me with that, Naruto-san?" Naruto felt like he knew the man, but couldn't figure out how. Maybe he was related to Ino?

"Uh, sure. What do you want to know?" Naruto gave the man a big grin, but he seemed to look right through it.

"Why don't you tell me about the dream you had last night."

"Sure, and then I could tell you about the other one I had before I left the hospital this morning?"

Inoichi gave only the slightest hesitation. "You had another? Were you asleep when it happened?"

"Not this time. I was wide awake, and then I just sort of… saw it."

"All at once or did it happen over time?"

Naruto scrunched up his forehead. He hadn't really thought about it. "I'm not sure. Jiji walk out and then it happened. When it was over, that's when I left."

Inoichi nodded thoughtfully. "Why don't you tell me about the… how about we call them visions?"

Naruto wasn't sure he liked the sound of that word, but he nodded. "Well, in the first one I was on a bridge in the Land of Waves. I'd graduated and was with my team, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme. We were protecting the guy building the bridge from these really powerful missing-nin, Zabuza and Haku. After I beat Haku, he asked me to kill him. I… uh… then he ran away to protect Zabuza and Kakashi-sensei killed him."

"I'll admit that I heard how you described the same vision this morning, and you seem to have added some details. Did you forget to mention them earlier?"

"No… it's more like I remember more things about what happened now. I remember that there was this bad guy named Gato. He was a real creep. He betrayed Zabuza and Haku, but Zabuza killed him before he died."

Inoichi nodded slowly, taking in every detail of what the boy said. "Alright, and what about the more recent vision?"

Naruto perked up for a moment, thinking about how Iruka and Teuchi had bet on him, but his face fell when he remembered the other parts. "Um… so we were all wearing black." He couldn't help but be nervous with this one.

"Who's we?"

"Iruka-sensei and me. And Teuchi-san and Ayame-neechan. We were eating at Ichiraku Ramen. It was after the Chunin Exam, and Iruka-sensei and Teuchi-san had bet that I would win my fight against Neji in the finals. And since I won, they paid for my ramen! It was great!"

"And why were you all wearing black?"

Naruto looked like he'd hoped he could skip over that part. "... We… uh… we just got back from Jiji's funeral." Naruto cringed at that, not wanting anyone to think he wanted something bad to happen to his jiji.

Inoichi took a moment to process that, before nodding blankly and clearing his throat. "Naruto-san… how did the Hokage die?"

Naruto looks like he was about to say something, and closed his mouth with a look of confusion. "I think I knew, but even in the dream… er.. vision, I didn't know much. A lot of people died during the invasion." Inoichi paled slightly, though his expression didn't waver. "I think Orochimaru did it. Everyone was talking about him afterward. I think Orochimaru killed Jiji..." Naruto's throat clenched at the thought. There was a shimmer in his eye, but he didn't want to cry. Jiji was still alive, wasn't he? Jiji is still alive, but Iruka-sensei is dead…

Inoichi nodded slowly. "Alright, I'll tell you what, Naruto-san. Why don't you get some rest and we can pick this up again later."

Naruto nodded as a tear tracked down his cheek.

"You're did fine. I'll see you again in a few hours." Inoichi reassured the boy as he left. Most seasoned veterans thought it was a good thing when the young ones got a little toughened up, but not him. He knew what these experiences did to the mind. And the younger they are, the more damage it does. Just look at the Uchiha kid. He glanced back to see Naruto staring out the window as he closed the door between them.

**-=oOo=-**

It was coming on evening. The sun just starting to dip down past the horizon. Still plenty of time in the day for a ninja to ply his trade. Inoichi Yamanaka stood across from the seated Hiruzen Sarutobi in the Hokage's office.

"They're not dreams and they're not delusions. It's not just that he's learning new things through them, but that some of them are things he shouldn't know. Some things are also provably false. His first vision showed him on team 7. His second vision showed him Iruka Umino alive. However, other parts were uncanny. He mentioned a Gato in the Land of Waves, I'm assuming that's a reference to the Gato Company. He mentioned a missing-nin named Zabuza. He has some familiarity with the structure of the Chunin Exams. I didn't want to press him for too many details, too soon, but I suspect further inquiry would yield similar irregularities."

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and puffed on his pipe. "Do you suspect external manipulation?"

Inoichi pondered that for a while. "I… am not sure, Hokage-sama. The kind of visions he's describing don't have a tactical value that I can see. His mention of Zabuza suggested he was an enemy. His second vision included periphery knowledge of you dying at the hands of Orochimaru during an invasion of the village. If someone is trying to sway his loyalties, I don't see how. If anything, the visions include comradeship with our own forces."

"And internal manipulation?"

"Again, I don't see the gain. It's hard to fathom what a massive chakra construct would want, but freedom or violence are probably high on the list. There doesn't appear to be a push in either of those directions as of yet. He reacted strongly to dwelling on the vision containing your death, but as you're still alive, I don't see how something like that would be meant to compromise him."

The Hokage nodded absently as he stared out the window. "... I'll need more to reach a viable conclusion. If you were to perform a mind walk on Naruto, could you determine what the visions are and where they come from?"

Inoichi paled. He cleared his throat, "I… I believe so. There can be… complications, walking through the mind of a jinchuuriki. It can be hazardous to the mind walker."

Hiruzen nodded. "Do you have a recommendation for lead interrogator?"

Inoichi closed his eyes. Slowly the tension eased from his shoulders. "I will handle it, Hokage-sama."

**-=oOo=-**

Kaori walked down the hall after completing her rounds. She held a tray with twenty sample vials, all but one empty. The lobby was fairly empty at the end of the day. She walked to the check-in counter and set the tray down. Suddenly she felt faint, stumbling into one of her peers.

Several staff crowded to help her to her feet. "Kaori-san, are you ok?" She nodded slowly with a hand to her forehead.

"I… I don't know what happened. Maybe I should sit down for a bit."

A medic-nin walked up and looked her in the eye carefully. "Have one of the staff escort you to one of the empty rooms. We can't have our staff overworked under non-emergency conditions. Get some rest." Kaori nodded weakly in reply.

As Kaori left the lobby, a male nurse spotted the tray of sample containers. "Does anyone know where these were supposed to go?"

The nurse at the desk glanced over. "Nope. What's there?"

He did a quick count. "Looks like nineteen empty sample vials."

**-=oOo=-**

Inoichi forced himself to relax.

"Naruto-kun, the technique I'm going to use is called Mind Walking. It will allow me to enter a manifestation of your brain called a mindscape. Once there I would investigate the source of these visions."

Naruto blinked. "Was I supposed to understand that?"

"I suppose not… What you need to know is two things. The first is that while I'm in there, your mind may try to fight against me to protect your thoughts and memories. Your willful cooperation would make this a lot easier. Can you do that for me?"

"Sure, I can do that, Inoichi-san!"

"Good." Inoichi couldn't help my smile at the boy's enthusiasm. "The second thing is more complicated. Hokage-sama agreed to let me inform you so that we'd be on the same page." Inoichi paused, but Naruto didn't seem inclined to interrupt. "Twelve years ago, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked the village-"

"Oh, you mean the giant fox sealed in my belly?"

The jounin was speechless for a moment. "... Yes. How did you learn about it?"

Naruto looked about ready to launch into a story when he stopped, apparently unsure how to start. "Um, I don't know?" Inoichi did not look impressed. "No, I'm serious! I know, but I don't really know how I know. Kind of like some of the stuff from my visions. Like when I knew I was in the Land of Waves."

"And… how do you feel about the fox?" The man's shoulders tensed despite himself.

"He's a bastard," Naruto grumbled.

Inoichi chuckled as some of the tension fled. Collecting himself, he continued, "Alright, I think that's something we can agree on. Do you feel comfortable getting started?"

Naruto agreed without hesitation. Inoichi suspected the boy didn't fully understand, but there were some things that needed to be experienced to be understood. The Jounin moved his chair away and stood next to the bed. He gently placed the palm of his hand on the boy's head and closed his eyes.

A warm, almost burning, sensation in his scalp forced Naruto's eyes closed for a moment, but when he opened them he was shocked to find himself standing in dark partially flooded corridor.

Just as suddenly, Inoichi was standing next to him. The man took a look around, making Naruto feel a bit self-conscious. The walls were poured concrete with open doorways along both sides of the long corridor. Pipes of varying sizes stretched across the ceiling and walls from one end to the other. It was too dark to make out the details, but considering the source of the light wasn't apparent, the visibility was remarkably helpful. Water lapped at his ankles as it leaked from the pipes above. The light was too dim to see much detail, but there was more than he expected with no obvious light sources around.

A deep growl echoed through the corridor causing Inoichi to drop into a defensive stance. Even with the noise bouncing off the concrete walls, Naruto could tell which direction it came from. He started walking toward the opening that led to the source before a hand clamped down on his shoulder to halt him. Far more numb than the last time that had happened, Naruto barely flinched at the Jounin's touch.

"Naruto-kun, is that the direction of the Kyuubi?" The man's voice sounded strange in the corridor. Almost muffled. A bead of sweat rolled down the man's intense expression. Naruto nodded dumbly and Inoichi released his grip and nodded in return. For some reason that Naruto couldn't place, he wasn't afraid of the beast like he thought he should be. He could vaguely remember the towering monster swiping its claws at him through the bars of a cage door. That should terrify him, but instead he felt sad. Needless to say, he felt like that was information his guest didn't want to hear at that moment.

The pair walked down the tighter hallway before coming to a large empty room. It was the first time Naruto had really seen the steel gates that held back the nine-tailed fox and he was certainly impressed. They stretched up and up at least a dozen stories high. The frame of the door had markings that made the whole structure look ancient and important, but beyond the bars was darkness. If it weren't for the sense of heat pouring from the other side, he might wonder if the fox was there at all.

Another deep growl echoed through the chamber causing both ninja to flinch as two red eyes opened from the other side staring directly at them.

"**My jailer comes with a chaperone. Afraid I'll reach through these bars and eat the boy?"**

Inoichi looked uncertain how to proceed. Naruto could sympathize, but he stepped forward regardless.

"Give it up stupid fox. We're not here for you."

"**Ah, you're here because your fragile mind nearly broke itself to pieces. Then why are you bothering me?"**

"Well, uh… because you live here? Maybe you know why it happened?"

"**Gwahahaha! And why would I help? Go, look for yourself and leave me be."**

The great red eyes closed, plunging the space behind the bars into darkness once more. Inoichi took a shuddering breath as a fraction of the tension left his body. It struck Naruto suddenly that Inoichi was a ninja when the fox attacked the village twelve years ago. He'd fought the creature behind the bars when it wasn't so restrained. Naruto shuddered to think about it.

Inoichi gestured for them to leave the way they came.

As they came back to the main corridor Inoichi put out a hand to halt Naruto as he listened. Without the fox's growling there was a sound they hadn't recognized before. Not the dripping of water from overhead pipes, but what sounded like a cascade of water in far off the distance.

They followed the noise down the corridor and down another branching hallway to a dead end. The hallway looked like it had caved in with chunks of concrete piled on top of each other. Through the cracks water flowed in streams to join the pool on the floor. Inoichi knelt by the blockage while extending a softly glowing hand toward the rubble.

"I will have to delve deeper, but I believe we've found the damage."

"Wait... so this is my brain, right? So part of my brain collapsed?" Naruto was pale at the thought.

Inoichi shook his head while he kept his hand outstretched. "Not precisely. This whole place is simply how your mind interprets what's going on inside your head. The seal that cages the Kyuubi isn't really a gate of steel bars, but it is an apt representation. After all, your subconscious understands you better than is possible in your conscious mind." He glanced at Naruto to make sure he was at least mostly following and got a hesitant nod in reply. "This cave in represents a blockage in your mind. There is something behind this rubble that either caused this damage or motivated your brain to cause this damage to protect the rest of you."

Inoichi's eyes narrowed as he turned back to the rubble. "I think I'm getting a better picture of how your mind works. The water is your thoughts, your memories. Everyone's a little different, but this isn't an uncommon representation. It tends to indicate a rapid thought process. Its all over the floor, which would seem to suggest you're rather careless about ordering your thoughts, but that will come with maturity. The water leaking in through the blockage appear to be memories, but they're slightly different than the water on the ground. So slight, that they are either more of your memories or a fantastic facsimile."

"Faksimy?"

"A copy. Genjutsu. The idea behind genjutsu is to suggest new inputs to the brain. The closer you can get to what the person's actual thoughts look like, the more believable it is. There are certain types of genjutsu that are a little less discriminatory, but memory implants are some of the most complex. If they're too different, they're easily dismissed, like a dream. The visions you've been having, however have been experienced like a dream, but you recognized that they weren't. Now I can see why. Very similar."

"This is much more interesting than classes. I wish Iruka-sensei taught like-" Naruto stopped at a sudden clenching of his throat and looked at his feet.

Not wishing to get sidetracked while in the middle of a mindwalk, Inoichi changed the subject. "Naruto-kun, there's another stage to what I'm doing here. So far we've been taking in the landscape, but I'm going to need to investigate these thoughts directly so I can attempt to discover their source. I'm asking because walking through memories can seem very invasive. I may see things you don't want someone to see, but I'm doing it for your own good. What do you say?"

Naruto was still looking at his feet. He coughed to clear his throat. "Uh, yeah. Go ahead."

Inoichi nodded and moved his hand to intercept one of the streams of water.

Suddenly the two were standing surrounded by a blur of colors. Naruto felt unsteady and Inoichi put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. The colors started to settle down as three figures leapt from rooftop to rooftop ancient looking castle walls. A loud crash was heard up ahead, but neither Naruto or Inoichi moved as the landscape slid past them.

With a great leap, the three figures careened into the middle of a fight between another three figures, though one appeared to be standing to the side. As the dust cleared, Naruto could see himself along with two women, one with an enormous chest, and a large man with long white hair and a pig on his shoulder.

"Ka.. Kabuto-san…?" The real Naruto could see the surprise on his own face. The older boy looked familiar, but he couldn't place him.

Suddenly the blonde woman pushed the large man aside and charged Kabuto, but the older boy responded by slashing his own wrist and spraying the woman with his blood. The shock of the maneuver continued when it seemed to have worked. The woman froze to stare at the blood and Kabuto gave her a haymaker, sending her flying back toward other-Naruto and the black haired woman.

"Hey! Hey! What the heck's going on! Why is Kabuto fighting Tsunade!?"

"You are so thick Naruto-kun. That's why you can't compare to Sasuke-kun." Both Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously at the bespectacled boy.

The large man was down on a knee. Jiraiya! That's it. "Look at his headband carefully! He is Orochimaru's subordinate."

"That's right… I'm a Sound village spy. And you know what, Naruto-kun? I have concluded something from your data. Unlike Sasuke-kun, you have no talent in becoming a shinobi." The real Naruto seemed to deflate somewhat at that, but the other one merely glared harder.

Kabuto continued, "Even if you make such a scary face, you are nothing more than an out-of-place genin. You were relying on that monster inside of you, but with the three Sannin in front of my eyes, you are worthless. You are like a small bug right now. If you try something, I'll kill you."

The goading worked and other-Naruto charged after Kabuto, creating three shadow clones on the way. As the four orange-clad genin surrounded him, however, a splash of blood flicked out and hit the original in the eyes. Kabuto made short work of all four and sent the original flying back to be caught by Shizune, who spat several needles at the off balance spy. However, even if he couldn't dodge out of the way, he just managed to deflect them with his headband.

As Kabuto regrouped with Orochimaru, Jiraiya directed Shizune to handle the former while he dealt with the latter. Other-Naruto would not have it. "What? I wanna fight too! I can…"

"No! They're on an entirely different level. The enemy is like me, and he killed the Sandaime. Only I can take him!" Jiraiya bit his thumb, swiped it across his hand and pressed it to the ground, creating a massive pattern on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Across the way, the enemy summoned a pair of giant snakes, with Orochimaru and Kabuto standing on the head of one. At Jiraya's feet, however, was a small orange toad.

"Sup."

Shizune mentioned something about poison, but both Narutos were busy glaring at figures standing on one of the snakes. Other-Naruto promptly bit his own thumb and made the same handseals before pressing his hand to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" The real Naruto was getting excited to see himself show off, but when the small cloud of smoke passed, a yellow toad about the same size as Jiraiya's sat there.

"Hello."

As the toads argued about snacks, the two snakes shot forward to attack. They group barely leapt away in time, but real Naruto paled when he saw one of the snakes appear through the dust kicked up from the attack lined up to eat his memory self in mid-air. Suddenly everything went dark.

Naruto and Inoichi glanced at each other. This wasn't the end, was it? They heard grunting noises and something sliding against a moist surface. Suddenly a crack of light appeared and both mind walkers watched as other-Naruto crawled slowly out of the mouth of the snake. Inoichi couldn't help by grin at that.

As other-Naruto feel to the ground, the snake followed, trapping his leg against the ground. He managed to pull his leg out from under the body of the snake, but the whole world seemed to go a bit blurry. Suddenly Kabuto and Tsunade came into focus. While she appeared to be healthy, she couldn't seem to stop him from raining down kicks in an attempt to subdue her. Other-Naruto crawled to his feet and ran forward, intercepting a punch with his own forehead protector.

"Now I'll put an end to this!" With his hands free, other-Naruto moved his hands around, creating a glowing ball of energy between them. It took only a moment before be swung the screaming sphere at his opponent, but Kabuto dodged out of the way, swiping a hand along other-Naruto's leg as he passed by.

Other-Naruto got back up to his knees, but couldn't seem to reach his feet.

"I managed to put a crack in your right femur with my snake attack. Even after that you're still moving, but you can't win. You can't even stand." Kabuto sneered. "If you want to grow up to become a true champion, it'd be best if you ran. … What's with those eyes? If you die here, you'll never attain your dreams or anything else. However, I suppose if you can't run away, then you'll have to die."

The memory Naruto swayed, but managed to climb to his feet. "I'm… not dead yet." He steadied himself and renewed his glare at Kabuto. The real Naruto grinned fiercely. The pair nearly spoke simultaneously, "That is MY way of the ninja."

Kabuto struck without warning, sending other-Naruto flying to the side, but with a groan, the climbed back to his feet.

"Tsunade-baachan, remember the arrangements of that bet. Now you'll have to give me that bad luck amulet of yours…" other-Naruto quick created a single shadow clone, but Kabuto charged again with a kunai.

"Naruto! Get out of the way! Run!"

A splash of blood and everything went still for a moment while they realized what had happened. The memory Naruto had used the palm of his hand to defend against the kunai, and the blade had pierced straight through. But Naruto wasn't done as his hand clamped down on Kabuto's hand. "Until I become Hokage, I refuse to die!" The shadow clone quickly waved its hands over the original Naruto's palm as the screaming energy formed again. Kabuto made to move away, but other-Naruto kept his death grip on his hand as he swung the solid looking ball of energy into Kabuto's chest.

Kabuto screamed as he was flung away, battering the ground with his body until he came to a rest against a boulder. Other-Naruto coughed up some blood and swayed where he stood. As he fell to the ground next to Tsunade, the world went dark once again.

The real Naruto and Inoichi stared at the darkness silently until the mindscape reasserted itself.

After a moment, Inoichi nodded thoughtfully. "I think we've seen enough for today." Naruto looks ready to see more, but Inoichi was much more familiar with how tiring these walks could be for the subject. He closed his eyes and the world seemed to fade away.

**-=oOo=-**

"Is Naruto-kun asleep?" Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't turn his chair from the window looking out over the village as Inoichi came to attention in front of the desk.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. The boy was exhausted once we left his mindscape, but future trips should be easier on him. It takes time to safely acclimate."

Sarutobi gently spun his chair to face the desk and his jounin. He seemed reluctant to ask the next question. "Is the fox involved?"

"While in his mindscape, we had a brief encounter with the Kyuubi no Kitsune that suggested whatever happened was not directly related to any action taken by the beast."

"Did you speak to it?" Inoichi nodded in response. "What does the fox say?"

"If taken at its word, it was its first time dealing directly with Naruto. It was aware of what had happened to the boy, but insinuated that it was not involved. The amount of distance in Naruto's mindscape between the prison seal and the incoming memories suggests it was telling the truth."

Sarutobi nodded and puffed on his pipe for a moment. "You said incoming. Are memories still being fed to his mind?"

Inoichi paused to find the right words. "I... wouldn't say that. I believe the memories came all at once, but his mind mostly shut down the piece of itself containing those memories. They're slowly leaking through the blockage to join the rest of his memories. Once the memories have leaked through, however, they are indistinguishable from his actual memories except for the impossibility of some of the events."

The Hokage's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

"The new memories have a nearly identical signature as Naruto's own memories. In order for the signature to match so closely, they would have to be generated by someone who thinks almost exactly like Naruto, or manufactured by someone who knows the boy better than he knows himself. Given his history, the latter is highly unlikely. If the former, it would fall in line with how shadow clone memories are typically returned to the user, aside from the volume and the content."

Inoichi stopped there. It was one thing to give a detailed report, but going off on a hair-brained theory wasn't appropriate in front of the Hokage. Sarutobi could sense the hesitation and sighed. "Go ahead, tell me your theory."

The mind walker blushed lightly before he recomposed himself. "Time-travel, Hokage-sama." Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, but made not effort to stop him. "Not physically, mind you. This is still our Naruto. It may be possible that somehow, in the future, Naruto created a shadow clone that, when dispersed, sent the memories back to now instead of the the Naruto that created it."

"Assuming the implanted memories are actual memories, could they have been manufactured by putting the shadow clone through a genjutsu before dispersing it?"

"Doubtful. The memory I viewed personally contained a great deal of information that would be very difficult to reproduce exactly without intimate knowledge of the village's history. If the memory was forged, the work was meticulous to the point of absurdity to trick someone as unknowledgable as Naruto."

"Who would stand to gain?"

"Possibly Tsunade-sama. Though I can't imagine the motivation. The dream included mention of her taking over the position of Hokage." Sarutobi leaned forward. This was a crucial sticking point. If the memories were designed to sway Naruto's loyalties, they would need to include a reason for Naruto to transfer his loyalty to a new person. Considering Naruto's character, that person would have to be Hokage, but Tsunade didn't have the skill set or the current knowledge of the village to accomplish something like this. Still, best to keep that possibility in mind.

"What about the inconsistencies?"

"That's actually what makes me believe it. If you put this amount of work into building these memories, why would you get something so simple, so wrong. Iruka Umino alive, Naruto graduating the academy. Those inconsistencies are far too personal for Naruto to miss. If my theory is correct, then Naruto passing out due to mental strain that night may have directly or indirectly resulted in Iruka's death and the boy's failure to be placed on a team. It's not hard to imagine that if Naruto were to have saved his sensei's life, that he might be graduated as a reward. It would prove he was ready for the field."

"Can your theory be verified?"

"I believe so. The changes thus far would still be localized. They are very important to Naruto, but insignificant to the greater world. We will need to investigate some of the information from memories that occur outside of Konoha."

"Very well. Compile everything we know regarding what has been referenced in Naruto's visions. I want a list of possible predictive events and any additional inconsistencies. In the mean time, I still want you to oversee Naruto's continued recovery." Inoichi nodded briskly in acknowledgement, but didn't move. "Is there something else?"

Inoichi cleared his throat. "When Naruto escaped the hospital, he was observed creating a partially complete rasengan, though the boy appeared most surprised. The absorption of his future memories may be giving his subconscious more than just knowledge of future events."

Sarutobi nodded and puffed on his pipe once more. "His skill level will need to be assessed." Another puff. "Brief Naruto on the basics of your theory so that he doesn't worry himself too badly, but don't go into detail. I would like to hold off the possibility of him blaming himself further for his sensei's death. I'll have him released from the hospital and appoint a training supervisor."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

**-=oOo=-**

Naruto felt conflicted. Being out of the hospital felt great, anything to get away from that evil ceiling. Plus, he was very grateful to Inoichi-san for explaining what was going on with him. It turned out to be pretty cool! Still, it was a lot to take in at once, and he'd had to promise he wouldn't go after Mizuki-teme again. There was only one cure for a day like today.

"Hi, Ayame-neechan!"

"Hey Naruto-kun!" The pretty ramen waitress smiled back brightly.

"If it isn't our favorite customer. Where've you been lately?"

"Hi, Teuchi-ji! I was in the hospital," Naruto finished with a grimace.

Ayame looked back up from where she was stirring a big pot of broth with alarm. "Oh dear, what happened? Are you hurt?"

Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, it was nothing. Just an accident, and they kept me there to make sure I was okay." Inoichi-san had told him the memory stuff was classified, but he was nice enough to tell him what to say if people asked.

"Well, at least I'm glad to hear that. So what will it be?"

"Two bowls of miso with pork, please!"

"Coming right up."

Naruto was fidgety. The hospital food wasn't really that bad, but nothing compared with ramen and he'd been deprived for too long. He kneeled on his stool in order to see if he could tell how soon he'd be able to eat when he heard the curtain behind him swish open.

"Oh, it's Naruto-baka. You still want to eat here?" He knew that voice.

"Too troublesome to find another spot."

Naruto turned around to see Ino holding the curtain open to the stall as Choji and Shikamaru walked in.

Twisting on his stool to sit his butt back down on the cushion, Naruto turned the stool to face his former classmates. He couldn't help but think Team 10 as his comrades, even if he doubted that's how they would see him right now. He was particularly aware of his bare forehead at the moment. "Hey guys! How're you doing?"

Ino rolled her eyes as she sat down several stools away from him. "Having lunch with my team, Naruto-baka. Private team stuff, so don't butt in!" She turned away to look over the menu.

Choji sat next to her on Naruto's side and rolled his eyes melodramatically. "Don't be like that, Ino. We're here to relax and get some nice food, right Shika?"

"Troublesome."

Still an academy student. First he was the dead last, and now he was lower than that. Fortunately, that was the moment that a bowl of steaming miso and pork ramen was set down in front of him and he felt like he was one with the world. He didn't notice Ayame's glare at the blonde genin.

"Itadaki-masu!" Naruto broke his chopsticks and began shoveling the heavenly noodles into his mouth.

On the other end of the counter, the voices of Team 10 drifted over to him. Ino's especially, as she never had been particularly subtle. "I'm fed up with these D-rank missions! Is Asuma-sensei going to have us babysitting forever? I heard Team 7 already left on a C-rank!"

"What's the rush, Ino? " Naruto didn't catch most of the rest of that. There was something about hearing that Team 7 has left on a C-rank that gave him a chill. Is that a mission he went on before? He couldn't connect up the details of his new memories, and it was getting really frustrating.

As Naruto reached the bottom of his first bowl, the sense of dread had dried up the rest of his appetite. Teuchi saw the look on his face and held up an empty bowl ready to be poured for him, but Naruto shook his head. He leaned over the counter to pat the boy on the head. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. The first bowl is on the house. Celebrating you getting out of the hospital."

Naruto couldn't hold back a small smile at the old man. Some things he could always count on. He nodded softly and parted the curtains to walk out, not sure where exactly he was going to go next.

He barely made it a few meters from the stand before the ANBU wearing a cat mask appeared in front of him. "Hokage-sama requests your presence at training ground six in 10 minutes." And the ANBU was gone, just like that. Well, that answers that question.

**-=oOo=-**

Filthy and exhausted, Mizuki made his way into the cave that hid the entrance to the outpost. He'd had help covering his trail, but he felt the hounds of his former village on his tail the whole time. Now maybe he could get some rest.

"Quite a mess you made."

Mizuki spun around and spotted a man with silver hair push himself off the wall to walk closer. He relaxed only slightly when he realized the man was his contact in the village, Kabuto Yakushi. "Perhaps, but it was successful" He tapped the large scroll strapped to his back.

"You broke cover without authorization." The dead voice sent a shiver up Mizuki's spine. He restrained himself from reaching for his kunai pouch. This was not a man he could fight against and live. "Still, it would be a shame to punish such opportunism with death." He walked slowly around the recent missing-nin, apparently amused by his nervousness. "Perhaps something else..."

"Th-the scroll. It has the Shiki Fuin in it! I made sure! I thought Orochimaru-sama was looking for it."

"You thought?" Kabuto narrowed his stormy eyes as he closed some of the distance to stand directly in front of the trembling former spy. Slowly the care-free smirk returned to his face as if the anger had never been there. The man's control of himself terrified Mizuki. You never really knew what he was thinking, and he always felt like a cat toy when he talked to him. "Perhaps you're right." With a flick of his wrist, Kabuto cut the strap holding the scroll to Mizuki's back and caught the scroll as he stepped past. Mizuki never saw him draw the weapon. "Report to the lab tomorrow at sun up. Your payment will be waiting for you." With that, Kabuto walked up to a stone face and through as if it wasn't there.

Mizuki followed him to the outpost entrance praying that a kunai wasn't waiting for him on the other side of the genjutsu. As he stepped through, he found a long corridor, empty of any visible presence. The adrenaline quickly wore off and Mizuki sagged where he stood before silently trudging off to the barracks.

**-=oOo=-**

**Author's Notes:**

Hopefully this chapter answers what the first chapter hinted at. I love foreshadowing and drawing out the reveal, but I promise not to keep secrets longer than necessary. Hopefully you find this premise as interesting as I do.

Also, I don't particularly enjoy rewriting existing canon scenes, but I wanted to provide a sense of familiarity so that people can get a feel for what Naruto should know at any point. There shouldn't be many more of these now that we've covered what's mostly going on.


End file.
